Tulalip News

Large Rally Planned in Minneapolis to Protest Washington NFL Team Thursday

All people are encouraged to attend. Everyone is encouraged to bring their hand drums.

MINNEAPOLIS – The AIM Twin Cities, the Minneapolis-based chapter of the American Indian Movement, is holding a rally to continue to draw attention to the protest of the Washington NFL team’s continued use of the name that is offensive to most American Indians.

The rally is planned during the Minnesota Vikings and Washington team’s game on Thursday November 7. The rally will begin at 5:00 pm. Participants are asked to meet at the American Indian Center at 1530 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Participants will march from the American Indian Center to Mall of America Field and hold a rally against the Washington Football team, protesting team owner Dan Snyder’s refusal to change the team name and mascot, which is a racial slur and stereotype that is offensive to American Indians.

AIM Twin Cities calls on all those who support a mascot and name change for the Washington Football team to join together to encourage Dan Snyder to

“Retire the racist attire! Recognize that American Indians are a living people, not mascots for America’s fun and games!”

All people are encouraged to attend.

Rally organizers stated in a news release:

“Using American Indian slurs like the ‘R-word’ is no different than the use of Black Sambo which offended African Americans or the Frito Bandito which is offensive to the Hispanic community.”

“The continued use of American Indian likenesses and images by sports teams has resulted in widespread racial, cultural and spiritual stereotyping which promotes hatred and disrespect of American Indian people,”

the news release continues.

Drum groups are invited to bring their big drums. Everyone is encouraged to bring their hand drums.

Quinault Tribe challenges leadership, while leadership challenges U.S. President

Posted by David Haviland November 6, 2013

KBKW.com

QUINAULT, Wash. – The Quinault Indian Nation will vote on a recall of their President, Fawn Sharp and three other members of the tribal Business Committee next week. The tribe’s newspaper the Nugguam, states that “A petition to recall Sharp, along with Vice President Andrew Mail, Treasurer Larry Ralston and Secretary Latosha Underwood was signed by at least fifty (50) qualified voters and filed with the Quinault Business Committee.

Tribal members who have spearheaded the vote cite issues with money, land, and legal management of the nation. The special general council meeting will be held in the Taholah School gymnasium for “Enrolled Quinault Tribal Members Only” on Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m.

Meanwhile Sharp plans to challenge U.S. President Barack Obama (and his administration) to keep his promises to American Indian Nations at his 5th annual meeting with hundreds of tribal leaders from across the country on November 13 in Washington D.C.. A press release from President Sharp said she will call for an intergovernmental dialogue to back up his often stated commitment to strengthen nation-to-nation relations.

Tanning Salon Promotes ‘Indian Color’ In Misguided Thanksgiving Promo

Thanksgiving means turkey dinners, family reunions… and spray-tanning?

November 6, 2013

HuffintonPost.com

Club Sun Tanning Salons’ attempt to make Thanksgiving into a holiday of tanning has gone totally awry with a promotional campaign with the unfortunate slogan: “The Indians brought more than just ‘CORN’ to the first Thanksgiving… they brought SEXY ‘COLOR’!”

In case you miss the point, they’ve got a model dressed up as a Native American, and a slightly paler model dressed up as a prim pilgrim next to her. You can see it all on their Facebook page.

As we’ve seen time and time again, having non-Native American woman dress up as “Indians” in fake fringes, beads and feathers is pretty much always racist and ill-advised, not to mention tacky. Stereotyping Native Americans’ skin color, too? Also highly not recommended.

This year, Club Sun should be giving thanks for the “delete” button on Facebook, not to mention the forgiveness of its customer base. Check it out below.

Stunning Portraits Of The World’s Remotest Tribes Before They Pass Away

Boredpanda.org

Maori of New ZealandClick image to view more. — Maori of New Zealand
Click image to view more.

Living in a concrete box with hot water pouring from the tap, a refrigerator cooling our food and wi-fi connecting us to the rest of the world, we can barely imagine a day in a life of, say, Tsaatan people. They move 5 to 10 times per year, building huts when the temperature is -40 and herding reindeer for transportation, clothing and food. “Before They Pass Away,” a long-term project by photographer Jimmy Nelson, gives us the unique opportunity to discover more than 30 secluded and slowly vanishing tribes from all over the world.

Spending 2 weeks in each tribe, Jimmy became acquainted with their time-honoured traditions, joined their rituals and captured it all in a very appealing way. His detailed photographs showcase unique jewellery, hairstyles and clothing, not to forget the surroundings and cultural elements most important to each tribe, like horses for Gauchos. According to Nelson, his mission was to assure that the world never forgets how things used to be: “Most importantly, I wanted to create an ambitious aesthetic photographic document that would stand the test of time. A body of work that would be an irreplaceable ethnographic record of a fast disappearing world.”

All of his snapshots now lie in a massive book and will be extended by a film (you can see a short introduction video below). So embark on a journey to the most remote corners and meet the witnesses of a disappearing world. Would you give up your smartphone, internet and TV to live free like them?

Source: beforethey.com Book: Amazon.com

Muckleshoots buy huge forestland in 3 counties

The tribe is paying about $313 million for 96,000 acres along Highway 410 in King, Pierce and Lewis counties.

November 6, 2013

Seattle Times By Sanjay Bhatt

The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe has acquired 96,307 acres of forest in King, Pierce and Lewis counties for just over $313 million, its largest land purchase ever.

The transaction has both economic and cultural importance for the tribe, which bought the land from a partnership run by Boston-based investment manager Hancock Natural Resource Group .

“This acquisition is another important step toward the Tribe’s goals of increasing our land base, reacquiring portions of our homeland and diversifying our economy,” said Muckleshoot Tribal Council Chairwoman Virginia Cross in a statement.

Cross said the Muckleshoots will manage the land “for the primary purpose of long-term sustainable timber harvest, while preserving natural values including fish and wildlife habitat, plant resources and areas of cultural importance.

“This working forest will provide jobs and revenue for important tribal government programs now and for future generations.”

The majority of the land is in King and Pierce counties, where the tribe paid $282 million for 86,501 acres of the White River Forest on both sides of Highway 410 between Enumclaw and Greenwater. In northern Lewis County, it bought 9,806 acres of forest land for nearly $32 million.

The sale wasn’t a total surprise to King County officials.

In March, County Executive Dow Constantine announced an $11.1 million agreement to buy the development rights on the 43,000 acres Hancock owned in King County — the largest block of privately owned land in the county not yet protected from development.

Without that pact, Hancock or a future landowner could have built 857 homes on 40- and 80-acre lots near the route to the Crystal Mountain ski resort and Chinook Pass.

But Wednesday, county officials said that conservation deal hadn’t closed yet.

Even though Hancock and the county had both signed the agreement, closing wasn’t to take place until the company sold the land, said Bob Burns, deputy director for the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

“It’s a top priority for the county to complete the conservation of that forestland,” Burns said. “We look forward to working with the tribe.”

According to its website, Hancock had $11.5 billion in timberland assets under management as of March, providing insurance companies, pension funds and other big investors with a way to diversify their assets. The company did not return a call seeking comment.

Hancock bought the White River Forest land from Weyerhaeuser in 2002 in a $37.9 million sale, county records show.

The Muckleshoots, with 2,317 tribal members, have been successful in diversifying its assets beyond its 3,860-acre reservation and its Auburn casino, considered one of the top three tribal casinos in the state.

The tribe has invested in the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in downtown Seattle. In 2007, it paid $62.5 million for the Salish Lodge & Spa overlooking Snoqualmie Falls, which hotel experts say still holds the price-per-room record in the Seattle area.

In recording the land sales, the tribe notified King County officials it plans to continue using the forestland for timber production.

The King County forestland acquired by the tribe represents about one-fifth of the 232,000 acres that receive special tax treatment for timber production in the county.

Prices for timber have rebounded since 2009, lifted by demand from homebuilders and emerging markets in Asia.

Timber from private land can be exported, unlike timber from state and federal lands.

Buying back land lost through treaties and forced sales has been a priority, according to the tribe.

“The White River Forest is an important part of the tribe’s homeland,” Cross said in her statement. “Bringing this property into tribal ownership is the realization of a long-held goal of our people.”

Material from Seattle Times archives was used in this report.

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or sbhatt@seattletimes.com On Twitter @sbhatt

NBA Star Kevin Durant and Nike Team Up to Support Heritage Month

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant is taking ankle support to a whole new level.

The NBA forward has teamed up for a third time with Nike’s N7 Fund to create the bold N7 KD VI signature shoe. Durant is expected to debut the shoe, which was inspired from Native American symbols, on Wednesday during the Thunder’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks.

“Playing in Oklahoma City has connected me to the mission of Nike N7 and the meaningful impact that it has with Native Americans here and across North America,” Durant said in a Nike press release earlier this year. “I believe in the power of sport to change lives, and I support helping youth in Native American communities experience the positive benefits of being physically active.”

The unveiling comes at the beginning of November, the month designated as Native American Heritage Month. And to celebrate Native American heritage, Nike’s N7 Fund is bringing together 100 youth from local tribal communities in Oklahoma City for an afternoon basketball skills clinic on Thursday, November 7th.

The bright colors used on the KD VI have significant meaning in Native culture. Turquoise is a color symbolic of friendship, and the red accents on the shoe is one of one of four colors—yellow, red, black and white—featured on the traditional Native America medicine wheel, representing movement and the four directions.

The KD VI also features the repeating pattern of arrows that first launched on the Pendleton Woolen Mills Nike N7 blanket last month. The arrow print symbolizes energy and forward motion and has reflective built in for a surprise effect when worn in the elements.

Nike’s N7 mission is to inspire and enable two million Native American and aboriginal youth in North American to participate in physical activities. Nike’s N7 collection launched in 2009 and since then, more than $2 million has been raised for Native American and aboriginal youth sport programs.

Activists Push For Laws Similar To Smoke-Free Arizona On Native American Land

By Nick Blumberg, KJZZ

When Arizona voters banned smoking indoors several years ago, the law didn’t cover Native American land. Now, an anti-smoking activist is trying to pass smoking ban that will cover the Navajo Nation.

Dr. Leland Fairbanks is president of Arizonans Concerned About Smoking, which helped push through the Smoke-Free Arizona Act in 2006.

“55 percent of the reservation people, who are part of Arizona, voted for the Smoke-Free Arizona Initiative, but they said it doesn’t apply to them because they’re independent nations,” Fairbanks said. “So unfortunately they’ve already voted; they would like to have what we have in the rest of the state.”

Now, he’s trying to collect about 10,000 signatures to get an initiative on the 2014 Navajo ballot banning indoor smoking.

“Only Navajos who are registered voters can sign. It does include, though, Navajos who are off reservation,” Fairbanks said. “If you’re a Navajo registered voter and you’re working down here in Maricopa County or some other county, you can sign that initiative and you can vote.”

Fairbanks says the signature drive is set to begin in January.

Lummi Nation seeks federal relief following fishery closure

Lummi tribal fishermen prepare a purse seine during the 2011 Fraser sockeye fishery. The tribe has declared 2013 a fisheries economic disaster after poor returns canceled this year’s fishery worth $1.3 million.

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

The Lummi Nation is seeking federal disaster relief for its fishing fleet following another year of poor returns of Fraser River sockeye salmon.

In September, the tribe passed a declaration of natural disaster under the federal Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and a fisheries economic disaster under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Despite a bountiful run in 2010, Fraser River sockeye returns have been declining for 30 years. The U.S. Department of Commerce declared it a fisheries economic disaster in 2002, 2007 and 2008.

There was no commercial Fraser sockeye in 2013. “Our traditional ties to the sockeye are irreplaceable,” said Elden Hillaire, chairman of the Lummi Fisheries Commission. “The lack of harvest interferes with our schelangen (way of life).”

Without a fishery, Lummi tribal fishermen missed out on a potential catch worth $1.3 million. In part, a declaration of a fisheries disaster would provide services and financial assistance to tribal fishermen who are trying to adapt to a changing industry.

After the 2008 declaration, the tribe received a U.S. Department of Labor grant to create a program called Lummi Fishers, which helps fishermen find training and other careers so they can make ends meet when they can’t fish.

Poor ocean conditions, shifting currents and climate change are blamed as potential causes for the Fraser run’s decline. Temperatures in the Fraser River in 2013 were the highest ever recorded; high enough to be lethal to the salmon.

The Fraser River runs through British Columbia. Nine treaty tribes in western Washington have treaty-reserved rights to catch Fraser River sockeye in U.S. waters before they migrate upstream. In addition to Lummi, they are the Jamestown S’Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam, Nooksack, Makah, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Suquamish, Swinomish and Tulalip tribes.

First Nations to resume blockade in Canadian fracking fight

Renewed protests follow announcement that energy company will re-start shale gas exploration

A Royal Proclamation day feast brought out over 300 to the anti-fracking blockade in Rexton, New Brunswick in early October. [Photo: Miles Howe]

By Sarah Lazare, November 5, 2013. Source: Common Dreams

Elsipogtog First Nations members are heading back to the streets in New Brunswick this week to defend their land from a gas drilling company seeking to re-start exploratory fracking operations in the region.

The new wave of local anti-drilling resistance will resume an ongoing battle between the community members who faced a paramilitary-style onslaught by police last month that sparked international outcry and a wave of solidarity protests.

“This is an issue of human rights and access to clean drinking water, and it’s fundamentally about sovereignty and self-determination.” –Clayton Thomas-Muller, Idle No More

The renewed protest follows a recent announcement by New Brunswick’s premiere that SWN Resources Canada, a subsidiary of the Houston-based Southwestern Energy Company, will resume shale gas exploration in First Nations territory after it was halted by blockades and protests.

Elsipogtog members announced Monday they will join with local residents and other First Nations communities—including the Mi’kmaq people—to “light a sacred fire” and stage a protest to stop SWN from fracking.

“SWN is violating our treaty rights. We are here to save our water and land, and to protect our animals and people. There will be no fracking at all,” said Louis Jerome, a Mi’kmaq sun dancer, in a statement. “We are putting a sacred fire here, and it must be respected. We are still here, and we’re not backing down.”

“The people of Elsipogtog along with local people have a very strong resolve and will be there as long as they need to be to keep the threat of fracking from destroying their water,” said Clayton Thomas-Muller, a campaigner with Idle No More, in an interview with Common Dreams.

Community members previously blocked a road near the town of Rexton in rural New Brunswick to stop energy companies from conducting shale gas exploration on their land without their consent.

In early October, the government imposed a temporary injunction on the New Brunswick protest, bowing to pressure from SWN.

Claiming the authority of the injunction, over 100 Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched a paramilitary-style assault on the blockade in late October, bringing rifles and attack dogs and arresting 40 people.

First Nations communities and activists across Canada and the world launched a wave of actions in solidarity in response to the attack.

“Within 24 hours of the paramilitary assault on the nonviolent blockade by the fed police, Idle No More and other networks organized over 100 solidarity actions in over half a dozen countries,” said Thomas-Muller.

Days later, a Canadian judge overruled the injunction on the protests. Yet the federal and provincial governments continue to allow SWN to move forward fracking plans on indigenous lands, in what First Nation campaigners say is a violation of federal laws protecting the sovereignty of their communities.

“This is an issue of human rights and access to clean drinking water, and it’s fundamentally about sovereignty and self-determination,” said Thomas-Muller. “Support for the Elsipogtog and their actions to reclaim lands in their territory is something that is powerful and united from coast to coast and around the world.”

Crowdfunded science suggests that coal-hauling trains cause air pollution

By John Upton, Grist

Coal dust is blowing off rail cars and over neighborhoods located near train tracks that are used to haul coal in the Pacific Northwest.

Air monitors placed near the tracks in a Seattle residential area detected spikes in large particles of pollution when coal-hauling cars chugged by. They also picked up an increase in diesel particulate matter. These preliminary research findings suggest that plans to increase the amount of coal hauled from mines in Montana and Wyoming to proposed new shipping terminals in Washington and Oregon will worsen air pollution.

How do we know this? Because 271 people donated $20,529 through the research-focused crowdfunding site Microryza to help buy air monitors and pay for the labor of researchers and a technician.

The work was led by University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor Dan Jaffe. He released the preliminary findings on Monday. A paper with the research results is still under peer review, but Jaffe said he felt he owed it to his donors to release his findings as soon as they were available.

From KUOW:

“We did find an increase in large particles in the air when coal trains pass by and it does suggest that it’s coal dust and it’s consistent with coal dust from those trains,” said the UW scientist, Dan Jaffe. …

Jaffe gathered air quality samples at two sites next to train tracks in the Northwest. He tested 450 trains as they passed — roughly 10 percent of which were carrying coal.

A spokesperson for BNSF Railway raised questions about the crowdfunded research: “How is it being done? How is it being funded? What standards are in place? Who is involved in that? So [crowdfunding] is a really new concept when it comes to scientific research.”

This highlights a challenge that scientists will face when they pursue crowdsourced funding: Donors will desire quick results, but the peer-review system takes time.

Jaffe, though, isn’t worried about it. “I’ve published over 120 papers in the scientific peer reviewed literature,” he said. “I know the drill. If I didn’t feel our results would hold up to peer review scrutiny there’s no way I’d be releasing them now.”